The Effect of Biologic Agents on Steatotic Liver Disease in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Prospective, Open-Label Comparative Trial.

Background: Biologic agents used in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) may influence the pathophysiology of coexistent metabolic-dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). This study primarily aimed to evaluate the six-month effect of infliximab or vedolizumab vs. no biologics on presumed hepatic steatosis in patients with IBD.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of bovine tuberculosis occurrence and burden in Bangladesh, 1970-2023.

We aimed to estimate the overall apparent prevalence, true prevalence, and the spatial, temporal, and test-specific burden of bovine tuberculosis in Bangladesh. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and BanglaJOL were searched for bovine tuberculosis publications in Bangladesh from 1 January 1970 to 23 June 2023. Of 142 articles screened, systematic review and meta-analysis were performed on 22 (15.

Determining the conclusiveness of a meta-analysis.

The pursuit of conclusive evidence related to an unanswered foreground (decision-making) question has been the driving factor behind multiple ongoing and planned randomized controlled trials as well as meta-analyses. However, a fundamental challenge lies in establishing robust methods for ascertaining whether a collection of synthesized trials has yielded a definitive answer to that foreground question through the process of meta-analysis. This article explores the evolution of methods that attempt to address this challenge.

Early warning of potential epidemics: A pilot application of an early warning tool to data from the pulmonary clinic of the university hospital of Thessaly, Greece.

Background & Methods: This paper describes a pilot application of the Epidemic Volatility Index (EVI) to data from the pulmonary clinic of the University Hospital of Thessaly, Greece, for monitoring respiratory infections, COVID-19, and flu cases. EVI, a simple and easily implemented early warning method based on the volatility of newly reported cases, exhibited consistent and stable performance in detecting new waves of epidemics. The study highlights the importance of implementing early warning tools to address the effects of epidemics, including containment of outbreaks, timely intervention strategies, and resource allocation within real-world clinical settings as part of a broader public health strategy.

Impact of Short-Course Palliative Radiation Therapy on Pancreatic Cancer-Related Pain: Prospective Phase 2 Nonrandomized PAINPANC Trial.

Purpose: Clinical evidence is limited regarding palliative radiation therapy for relieving pancreatic cancer-related pain. We prospectively investigated pain response after short-course palliative radiation therapy in patients with moderate-to-severe pancreatic cancer-related pain.

Methods And Materials: In this prospective phase 2 single center nonrandomized trial, 30 patients with moderate-to-severe pain (5-10, on a 0-10 scale) of pancreatic cancer refractory to pain medication, were treated with a short-course palliative radiation therapy; 24 Gy in 3 weekly fractions (2015-2018).

The convergence epidemic volatility index (cEVI) as an alternative early warning tool for identifying waves in an epidemic.

This manuscript introduces the convergence Epidemic Volatility Index (cEVI), a modification of the recently introduced Epidemic Volatility Index (EVI), as an early warning tool for emerging epidemic waves. cEVI has a similar architectural structure as EVI, but with an optimization process inspired by a Geweke diagnostic-type test. Our approach triggers an early warning based on a comparison of the most recently available window of data samples and a window based on the previous time frame.

Efficacy and safety of transpancreatic sphincterotomy in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Difficult cannulation represents a common obstacle during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). We assessed the efficacy and adverse events of transpancreatic sphincterotomy (TPS), and investigated potential associated confounders.

Methods: All patients referred to our department for ERCP during 2015-2020 were eligible if they had intact papilla and visceral anatomy.

Hierarchical true prevalence, risk factors and clinical symptoms of tuberculosis among suspects in Bangladesh.

Background: The study was aimed to estimate the true prevalence of human tuberculosis (TB); identify risk factors and clinical symptoms of TB; and detect rifampicin (RIF) sensitivity in three study areas of Bangladesh.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted in three Bangladesh districts during 2018. Potential risk factors, clinical symptoms, and comorbidities were collected from 684 TB suspects.

|tPRiors |: a tool for prior elicitation and obtaining posterior distributions of true disease prevalence.

Background: Tests have false positive or false negative results, which, if not properly accounted for, may provide misleading apparent prevalence estimates based on the observed rate of positive tests and not the true disease prevalence estimates. Methods to estimate the true prevalence of disease, adjusting for the sensitivity and the specificity of the diagnostic tests are available and can be applied, though, such procedures can be cumbersome to researchers with or without a solid statistical background. This manuscript introduces a web-based application that integrates statistical methods for Bayesian inference of true disease prevalence based on prior elicitation for the accuracy of the diagnostic tests.

The epidemic volatility index, a novel early warning tool for identifying new waves in an epidemic.

Early warning tools are crucial for the timely application of intervention strategies and the mitigation of the adverse health, social and economic effects associated with outbreaks of epidemic potential such as COVID-19. This paper introduces, the Epidemic Volatility Index (EVI), a new, conceptually simple, early warning tool for oncoming epidemic waves. EVI is based on the volatility of newly reported cases per unit of time, ideally per day, and issues an early warning when the volatility change rate exceeds a threshold.

Atrial High-Rate Episode Duration Thresholds and Thromboembolic Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background Available evidence supports an association between atrial high-rate episode (AHRE) burden and thromboembolic risk, but the necessary extent and duration of AHREs to increase the thromboembolic risk remain to be defined. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to identify the thromboembolic risk associated with various AHRE thresholds. Methods and Results We searched PubMed and Scopus until January 9, 2020, for literature reporting AHRE duration and thromboembolic risk in patients with implantable electronic devices.

Wenckebach cycle length: A novel predictor for AV block in AVNRT patients treated with ablation.

Background: Radiofrequency catheter ablation remains the most effective management option for atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia (AVNRT). The risk of atrioventricular (AV) block requiring permanent pacemaker is substantial, but, currently, a reliable method to predict this complication is lacking.

Methods: The electrophysiologic studies (EPS) and baseline characteristics of patients who underwent catheter ablation for the treatment of AVNRT were retrospectively analyzed to investigate predisposing factors for AV block after treatment.

Combined assessment of early and late-phase outcomes in orphan drug development.

In drug development programs, proof-of-concept Phase II clinical trials typically have a biomarker as a primary outcome, or an outcome that can be observed with relatively short follow-up. Subsequently, the Phase III clinical trials aim to demonstrate the treatment effect based on a clinical outcome that often needs a longer follow-up to be assessed. Early-phase outcomes or biomarkers are typically associated with late-phase outcomes and they are often included in Phase III trials.

Relative Efficacy of Sacubitril-Valsartan, Vericiguat, and SGLT2 Inhibitors in Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction: a Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

Background: Sacubitril/valsartan, vericiguat, and the sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) dapagliflozin and empagliflozin proved effective in phase 3 trials on heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).

Methods: We compared the treatment arms (sacubitril/valsartan, vericiguat, and SGLT2i) with the respective control arms (standard-of-care [SOC]) through a network meta-analysis of the phase 3 trials (PARADIGM-HF, VICTORIA, DAPA-HF, EMPEROR-Reduced), a phase 2 trial on vericiguat and the HFrEF subgroup of DECLARE-TIMI 58.

Results: There was a trend towards decreased risk of cardiovascular (CV) death or HF hospitalization with SGLT2i than sacubitril/valsartan (HR 0.

Prior distributions for variance parameters in a sparse-event meta-analysis of a few small trials.

In rare diseases, typically only a small number of patients are available for a randomized clinical trial. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon that more than one study is performed to evaluate a (new) treatment. Scarcity of available evidence makes it particularly valuable to pool the data in a meta-analysis.

The Complex Relationship Between Serum Uric Acid, Endothelial Function and Small Vessel Remodeling in Humans.

Aims: The relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) and microvascular remodeling in humans remains largely unexplored. We assessed whether SUA provides additional information on the severity of microvascular remodeling than that obtained from the European Heart Score (HS), the patterns of microvascular remodeling associated with changes in SUA levels and the mediation by endothelial function and nitric oxide (NO) availability on this relationship.

Methods: A total of 162 patients included in the microvascular dataset of the Italian Society of Hypertension with available information on SUA, media-to-lumen (M/L) ratio, media cross-sectional area (MCSA), endothelial function, NO availability and HS were included in the analysis.

A Bayesian meta-analysis on early tobacco exposure and vascular health: From childhood to early adulthood.

Background: Smoking has been consistently associated with increased cardiovascular risk in adults. Although exposure to tobacco products often starts in early life, evidence for the possible adverse effects on the cardiovascular system of the young is scarce. We sought to derive pooled estimates of smoking effects on indices of early vascular damage in children and adolescents.

Antithrombotic Treatment in Cryptogenic Stroke Patients With Patent Foramen Ovale: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background and Purpose- It is unclear whether treatment with anticoagulants or antiplatelets is the optimal strategy in patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack of undetermined cause and patent foramen ovale that is not percutaneously closed. We aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to compare anticoagulant or antiplatelet treatment in this population. Methods- We searched PubMed until July 16, 2019 for trials comparing anticoagulants and antiplatelet treatment in patients with stroke/transient ischemic attack and medically treated patent foramen ovale using the terms: "cryptogenic or embolic stroke of undetermined source" and "stroke or cerebrovascular accident or transient ischemic attack" and "patent foramen ovale or patent foramen ovale or paradoxical embolism" and "trial or study" and "antithrombotic or anticoagulant or antiplatelet.

Participants' outcomes gone missing within a network of interventions: Bayesian modeling strategies.

Objectives: To investigate the implications of addressing informative missing binary outcome data (MOD) on network meta-analysis (NMA) estimates while applying the missing at random (MAR) assumption under different prior structures of the missingness parameter.

Methods: In three motivating examples, we compared six different prior structures of the informative missingness odds ratio (IMOR) parameter in logarithmic scale under pattern-mixture and selection models. Then, we simulated 1000 triangle networks of two-arm trials assuming informative MOD related to interventions.

Association between fat mass through adolescence and arterial stiffness: a population-based study from The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Background: The link between adiposity, metabolic abnormalities, and arterial disease progression in children and adolescents remains poorly defined. We aimed to assess whether persistent high adiposity levels are associated with increased arterial stiffness in adolescence and any mediation effects by common metabolic risk factors.

Methods: We included participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) who had detailed adiposity measurements between the ages 9-17 years and arterial stiffness (carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity [PWV]) measured at age 17 years.